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Markus, Andrew. Through a glass darkly: aspects of contact history’, Aboriginal History, 1 (2), 1977:170-180.

Marx, Karl. Grundrisse: foundations o f the critique o f political economy. Harmondsworth, 1973. Marx, K. and F. Engels. The German ideology in their Collected works, Vol. 5. London, 1976. Meillasoux, C. ‘On the mode of production in the hunting band’, in Pierre Alexandre, ed. French

perspectives in African studies. London, 1973:187-203.Pershits, A.I. ‘The primitive norm and its evolution’, Current Anthropology, 18(3), 1977:409-414.

The evolution of the primitive norm: response to comments’, Current Anthropology, 18 (4), 1977:731-735.

Sahlins, Marshall. Stone age economics. London, 1974.Sharp, Rachel. Ideology, knowledge and schooling. (Forthcoming).Sinclair, Keith. ‘Why are race relations in New- Zealand better than in South Africa, South

Australia or South Dakota’, New Zealand Journal o f History, 5 (2), 1971:121-127.Sorrenson, M.P.K. ‘Land purchase methods and their effect on Maori population, 1865T90T,

Journal o f the Polynesian Society, 65, 1956:183-199.Stanner, W.E.H. After the dreaming. Sydney, 1969.Stedman Jones, Gareth. ‘History: the poverty of empiricism’, in Robin Blackburn, ed. Ideology

in social science. New York, 1972: 96-115.‘From historical sociology to theoretical history’, British Journal of Sociology, 27 (3), 1976: 295-305.

Terray, Emmanuel. Marxism and ‘primitive’societies. New York, 1972.Thompson, E.A. The early Germans. Oxford, 1965.Ward, Alan. A show of justice: racial ‘amalgamation’ in nineteenth century New Zealand.

Canberra, 1974.Wild, R.A. ‘Social stratification and race relations’, Mankind, 11 (2), 1977:81-92.

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The moving frontier: aspects o f Ab original-European interaction in Australia.Edited by Peter S tanbury. A.H. and A.W. Reed, Sydney, 1976. Pp. 160. $12.95.

The concept behind this book was a wise one. There is a need for au thoritative popular accounts o f the diversity of Aboriginal culture and its interface w ith European expansion. Thirteen authors have presented individual essays on aspects including prehistory, environm ent, traditional economic and social life, cultural factors such as art, music and language, historical and contem porary race relations and the European perception o f Aboriginal Australians through the m edium of art and literature. The book is clearly prin ted and attractively assem bled on good quality paper. There are contributions from established au thorities such as Dr A. Capell and Dr Alice Moyle, but several authors are relatively new to the field. The editor is to be com m ended for encouraging so many ‘nonestab lishm ent’ scholars. He also enlisted support from ‘outside’ disciplines, and Leonie K ram er’s short survey of ‘the Aboriginal in literatu re’ opens up a neglected area. The volume is innovative in one m ost positive direction. Terry Widders was asked to con tribu te thoughts on the predicam ent o f his own people. His insights m erit a tten tio n and it is to be hoped that he will proceed to a m ore extended treatm ent.

The credit balance of this book is unfortunately offset by so m any negative features, that it is necessary to emphasise them at some length. T he ed ito r m ust be held responsible for many of them . Uneven and repetitive chapters are included, several of them bearing the hallmarks o f hurried preparation. In some chapters factual content is sparse, while o ther sections are overloaded with personal names or disjointed and bald factual details. There is some blurring betw een fact and inference. The expectation o f audience level evidently varied from elem entary school to undergraduate. The editor fails to explain why he exerted such lax editorial control or why he excluded any docum entation o f illustrations or bibliographic advice. The principles tha t guided his choice of authors, chapters, themes or illustrations also rem ain unstated. The dustjacket b lu rb implies some

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virtue in a policy o f avoiding ‘th e style o f the academic study’, bu t any gains are questionable. They are offset by the fact that a book intended to inform a lay audience becomes dogm atic if all the scholarly apparatus is ignored. ‘There is no deliberate propaganda in these pages’, the editor claims, ‘bu t merely the facts, sym pathy and understanding of th e au thors’. This bland ‘objectivity’ is m atched by several recent w orks on race relations, including source books. There is a danger, however, that to le ran t editors, such as the one of the book under review, by seeking ‘to avoid extrem ism ’ (p.5), p ro jec t ju st th a t image disguised w ith appeals to reason and em otion. These critical and generalised observations may seem bo th untim ely and uncharitable, fo r the sym pathe tic hum anitarianism of the contribu tors is evident, and Australian society surely needs education on the subject of these essays. I t is com mendable th a t con tem porary academics should feel remorse for racial genocide, but the story to ld is easily d isto rted .

There is a tendency in som e o f these chapters to emphasise the perfect harm ony between man and nature in p re-E uropean times and to contrast it w ith the pathetic sequel. The consequential message is of the fall of a race from ecological and spiritual grace to a physical sta te ru ined by shot, disease and alcohol. There is a danger that to tal acceptance o f th is ‘before and afte r’ syndrom e may act to the educational disadvantage o f con tem porary Aboriginal people. They are presented with a stereotype o f w hat their people now are, a stereotype already accepted by most Europeans; they are le ft unaw are of other dignified b u t less obvious features of their history since European dom ination . While it may salve the conscience of the whites, it can do little to assist the recovery of self-esteem and sense of achievement am ongst the depressed people to emphasise the paradise lost. This book overlooks m any aspects o f Aboriginal-European interaction which establish that disintegration was no t the on ly them e meriting investigation and reflection. For example, w hat o f the dignified bearing of tribal elders at the tim e o f initial contact, and the close friendships w hich they established w ith men such as William Thomas in Victoria? There is scope for detailed historical evaluation o f the ro le of these men. The fac t tha t there was significant Aboriginal resistance in Q ueensland is under close investigation by Tow nsville historians; it is a them e unrepresented here, and so is any reflection on th e ‘rebellion’ at Coranderrk. Aboriginal stockm en adapted to the horse as readily as A m erican Indians; Tasmanians adopted the dog so rapidly that it transform ed the ir social life even as it was under b ru tal E uropean assault. Aboriginal sportsm en have achieved celebrity in many fields o f European endeavour, not least as cricketers in England over a century ago. Many explorers praised the initiative and endurance o f Aborigines in the patronising prose o f the period; but such guides canno t be dismissed as mere variants of Uncle Tom . N either can the Gippsland inform ants o f A.W. H ow itt or his proud friend Barak, elder at Coranderrk. Those great fo lk heroes, Burke and Wills, perished in a land of Aboriginal plentitude. Forty years la ter two Aboriginal men from C harlotte Waters accompanied Spencer and Gillen across the continent and returned alone, safely and w ithout fuss. Such subjects are as much a p art of culture contact as are the very real and depressing effects. A ny Aboriginal (or European schoolchild) w ho read The moving fro n tier w ould scarcely leam tha t reality.

Neither does the selection o f illustrations assist. In such a ‘factual’ survey, w here are the maps which tie names in th e te x t to localities? Given the vaunted objectiv ity of approach, why were so m any illustrations culled from the n ineteenth cen tu ry popular press? Why bother to use an illustration, if it is necessary to add (p .23) th a t ‘early nineteenth century E uropeans often used m ore imagination th a t observa tion’? Surely scholarship has advanced beyond acceptance of a George Grey W andjina as typifying ‘a D ream tim e superm an’ (p.21)? The distinguished linguist S.A. Wurm may feel startled to read th a t he is an archaeologist (p.84); likewise, it is W atkin, no t Watkins Tench (p.66). However, m isprints are rare in the tex t, although the single

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or two sentence paragraphs which abound render pages staccato and unattractive. Few chapters could be described as distinguished literature. The index is exceptionally bad, for confusion abounds. Presumably the insertion o f full page pictures explains why the index is a nonsense around pp. 117-120. Indexing is selective in regard to persons included and, to take examples from ‘B’, Bellbrook is listed in chapter 7, bu t not in chapter 13; Bull Cave is som ething o f a feature, being m entioned in three chapters (pp. 114, 119 and 128), bu t appearing in the index at p. 128 only; w hether it is illustrated at all is unclear, b u t perhaps p.119 carries an example o f its art. This reviewer cannot accept the ed ito r’s inferences (p. 10) that this book succeeds in recording past events so tha t the fu tu re may be followed ‘with understanding’, or th a t it wili assist the process o f com prehending Aboriginal identity.

D.J. MULVANEY AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY.

Aborigines in white Australia: a docum entary history o f the a ttitudes affectingpolicy and the Australian Aborigine 1697-1973. Edited by Sharm an Stone. Heinemann Educational Books, S outh Yarra, Vic., 1974. Pp. 253. $12.50 h.b. $8.50 p.b.

This book is one of at least four docum ent collections on the history o f relations between Aborigines and w hite Australians published between 1972 and 1975. Their publication illustrated the upsurge o f interest in race in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the Australian com m unity, and publishers’ desire to cater for the burgeoning market. These anthologies served a useful purpose. They provided the studen t and the general reader w ith m uch historical material th a t had been locked away in often obscure sources and tem porarily filled a serious gap in the historiography of Australian race relations. It was possible to prepare such books quickly and they were often the by-products of o ther related and ongoing research projects. Several of these docum entary collections bore obvious signs o f hasty preparation and inadequate editing, while com m entary and in terpretation was often skim py. The focus was typically European, the emphasis (as in this book) on w hite a ttitudes and policies. To a considerable degree these collections already show their age. They will probably be superseded by a new wave of m ore serious books which will com e out over the next few years.

Sharman S tone’s book covers a wide scope — nominally from 1697 to 1973. But Section One, entitled ‘The Sailing Explorers’, consists of only one page — half from Dampier, half from Cook — scarcely a serious attem pt to illustrate eighteenth century opinion. The following 114 extracts in 200-odd pages cover the First Penal Settlement, The Expansion of Free Settlem ent Beyond the Limits o f Location, The Aborigines in the Work Force, The Tw entieth Century and a New Deal for Aborigines, Becoming an Australian Citizen. Nearly half the book deals w ith the tw entieth century. The sources are fairly obvious and well know n to anyone familiar with the field. For the early period S tone draws on the Historical Records o f Australia, Historical Records o f New South Wales and the British Parliamentary Papers. Nine extracts in a row com e from an 1839 House of Com mons Paper, five in a row are taken from the R eport o f the 1861 Select Com m ittee on the Queensland Native Police. The editor seems a little uncertain about the basis for selection. In a foreword she states tha t ‘the only pre-requisite for selection was tha t at the time of statem ent, the views were made readily available to the reading pub lic’. It seems doubtful if this was true o f Governor’s Despatches or even of m any o th er official publications.

Each of the seven sections is prefaced by an in troductory no te from the editor.

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They are short and succinct b u t provide little of historiographical in terest. There are indeed a number of m inor slips and inaccuracies. G.A. Robinson was not a Presbyterian missionary, William Lanney’s name is spelled w rongly, it d id no t take eight m onths to sail to England in the 1830s, the P ro tecto ra te was no t initiated in 1836, Western Australia did receive convict labour. The standard of editing is below what should be expected from an established publisher. T here is inconsistency in the use of capital ‘A ’ for Aborigines, in the use of Aborigines o r Aboriginals. There is some confusion abou t the 1861 Select Com mittee on the Q ueensland Native Police. It is variously referred to as a Select Com mittee or a Royal Com m ission, either in 1861 or 1864. However the index is comprehensive and m uch b e tte r than those in comparable publications.

The book also contains m ore pictures — 27 plates — th a n any o f the o th er docum entary anthologies. While they are often interesting they seem to be culled from a lim ited num ber o f collections and are often n o t directly related to the tex t. For instance a picture o f Coranderrk residents of the 1870s faces a page containing Governor H unter’s despatches of 1797 and 1800. A survey o f the p ictures raises another question. The tex t is thoroughly Eurocentric in depicting w hite a ttitudes and policies. Yet the pictures are all of Aborigines: they are used as decorations, almost as exotica, ra ther than as illustrations of the tex t. S tone has p u t together a useful, if not distinguished, collection of docum ents, although I suspect tha t it is an example of a genre th a t is already a little dated.

HENRY REYNOLDS JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY OF NORTH QUEENSLAND

World catalogue o f theses and dissertations about the Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. By W.G. Coppell. Sydney University Press, Sydney, 1977. Pp. x + 113. $7.50.

In recent years docum entation on the life, death, religion, past h isto ry and o th e r unique aspects relating to the Australian Aborigines has been prolific. This in tu rn has created a dem and for bibliographic coverage. However, one im m ediate reaction to the publication of a bibliography of theses relating to th e Aborigines is one o f caution, as the approxim ately 700 theses included here could arguably be b e tte r covered from an inform ation retrieval viewpoint as p art o f a w ider listing.

It is now about ten years since the appearance o f B.F. Craig’s bibliographies (Arnhem Land peninsular region, 1966; Central Australia and Western D esert regions . . . , 1969; North-W est-Central Queensland . . . , 1970). J . G reenw ay’s Bibliography o f the Australian Aborigines . . . covers the period to 1959. These works, however, do no t include theses. Despite the M orris Miller L ibrary list (Union list o f higher degree theses in Australian University Libraries, 1965, supplements to 1974), total bibliographic coverage of theses in A ustralia in any field is not com plete, and bibliographic research success is a t times reliant on the grapevine of colleagues. Theses produced by Pass and H onours Bachelors’ degree and Master’s Qualifying candidates, are not included in the M orris Miller list, nor are many theses subm itted to institutions outside of A ustralia. The value in this present catalogue of including all thesis-type material is great, as frequently such theses may represent the only work which has been done in certain fields. O ther bibliographies and catalogues published in Australia also can n o t be relied upon to cover theses. My ow n Bibliography o f the Northern Territory aims to include relevant theses as fully as possible, b u t part 3, the one m ost directly concerned w ith the Aborigines, will n o t appear until 1979 or 1980.

Quite obviously the Australian Institu te o f Aboriginal S tudies is aware o f th is bibliographic gap, as they funded Dr. Coppell in the w ork o f preparing the p resen t

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catalogue for publication. The coverage o f this bibliography w ould appear to be the result of some depth of work, as it includes theses prepared for all levels of tertiary award. One particular feature is that know n related published w orks of any given au th o r are also listed, which can be of value to users w ithou t convenient access to or need of a copy of the original theses. Coverage of theses and similar works originating within Australia appears to be excellent. As regards ‘w orld ’ coverage of theses it is extrem ely d ifficult bo th for the com piler to be certain of universality and for the reviewer to judge gaps in coverage. But, in the circum ­stances, the m ere fact that citations for such a large group of theses have been gathered together in one volume is of itself a contribution o f considerable value to the researcher. The text of the catalogue is in alphabetical au tho r order, and is supplem ented by a useful subject index, which includes names (with alternative spellings) of tribes and languages, and geographic regions. The te x t itself is clear and easy to read. Each entry gives details o f author, title, thesis level, and w hen and to which in stitu tion it was presented. No advice as to any pro jected m eans of updating the catalogue is offered, and as the cu to ff po in t is Ju ly 1976, the w ork is already beginning to date. For the present the A.I.A.S. N ew sletter will serve as a de fac to supplem ent, but over a longer period this has obvious disadvantages. The volume o f writing on the Aborigines has now reached a stage where the ideal overall definitive bibliographic coverage o f the field could be usefully divided on a subject basis. In view of the accessibility of theses to the experienced researcher, theses w ould be treated in such a listing as one form of docum entation in such a wider listing, bu t in the meantime, as such a prospect is unlikely, this catalogue is extremely valuable to any reader or researcher in fields relating to the Aborigines. Hopefully a revised edition will appear in due course. This catalogue will also have its uses to the writers of these theses, as increased exposure of their w ork in an appropriate source could encourage the publication of some works of w ider appeal or potential usage.

CAROL M. MILLS CANBERRA COLLEGE OF ADVANCED EDUCATION

‘ “These strangers, where are they going?” Aboriginal-European relations in the Fraser Island and Wide Bay region 1770-1905'. By R aym ond Evans and Jan Walker. University of Queensland A nthropology Museum, Occasional Papers in A nthropology, (8), 1977: 39-105.

This essay is a narrative of the relations between Europeans and Aborigines from Cook’s visit to the end of an attem pt to conduct a mission for the Aborigines. The authors divide the subject into four sections: casual contacts (to 1842); war(1842-1859); economic and social relationships and mission w ork (1859-1897); and the Fraser Island Reserve (1897-1905). The essay has been carefully researched and is thoroughly docum ented. The au thors seem to have been exhaustive in their quest and use of sources. This comprehensiveness is perhaps possible only w ith local studies and it therefore raises the question of w hat role local history should have in Aboriginal studies. It is no t clear from this essay tha t its authors in tended to contribute anything to the wider study o f Aboriginal history, or to understanding the general problem s of race relations and culture contact in Australia. The effort seems to have been directed more a t recording the passing local scene than, say, looking at local variations of general processes. The absence of com parative com m ent or analysis is a disappointm ent in w hat is otherwise a well executed piece of research. For example the narrative o f depredation and reprisal is in te rrup ted in an unduly discreet way to suggest th a t ‘European retaliation against Aborigines throughout sou th eastern Queensland, extending over many m onths, was massive,

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indiscriminate and unrelenting and nowhere does it seem tha t the response was so viciously unrestra ined as in the regions o f the B urnett, Wide Bay, and th e ir hinterlands . . . ’ (p. 57).

There should be no need to justify local history, b u t it is less likely to in terest anyone bu t locals unless statem ents like these are m ade; b u t they m ust, in addition , be exam ined and supported . Every local historian thinks his area is ‘special’, b u t if the statem ent q u o ted above is true, then it m ust have m ore than local significance. Generations o f w hite Australians have thought that the Aborigines do no t have a history; th a t view has been superseded, whatever its num erical following. It now needs to be established w hether the Aboriginal experience o f E uropeans was homogeneous, or w hether there were im portant regional or social variations. If some areas were m ore violent than others, can the difference be explained?

A second historiographical problem is contained in the second half o f th e essay. The au thors betray some ambivalence about the ex ten t to which th e Aborigines were adaptive o r passive in their response during the post-violence period. The short answer w ould be that they were bo th , and the au thors p resen t evidence for both; b u t they are apt to see the situation in perhaps overly sym pathetic term s as a com bination o f exploitation and rejection. The problem here is that since Evans and W alker claim th a t the Wide Bay region was m ore than usually vio lent, and tha t the violence stopped fairly suddenly in 1858, then how should one explain the very considerable am ount of work done by Aboriginal em ployees fo r the settlers before 1858? (p .61). The Aboriginal response, and therefore the question of ad ap ­tation, appears to be m ore com plex than the in te rp re ta tion offered here allows.

A third h istoriographical problem im plicit in this essay is the possibility' o f countering th e inevitable Eurocentric bias o f w ritten sources, to a ttem p t to w rite history from ‘the inside’. In the first half o f the essay the au thors m ake plausible attem pts at such reconstruction , bu t the a ttem p t is n o t sustained th roughout. This problem is inheren t in the sources, and n o t the fault o f the au thors, who are obviously aw are o f it. Perhaps European w ritten sources con tain biases w hich cannot be overcom e in writing ‘inside’ history. These rem arks are m ade n o t to denigrate local h istory , or this essay in particular. The answer to these problem s is to be sought in m ore local history, no t less. The tim e has com e, how ever, for such studies to be done in a com parative, problem oriented fram ew ork.

The virtues o f th is essay, as well as its lim itations, are those o f local h is to ry : detailed in form ation , close docum entation and careful exposition. Aboriginal perceptions o f Europeans, the nature and success of A boriginal resistance to invasion, the arrogance and hostility of w hite tow nsfolk, the gross exp lo ita tion of Aboriginal labour, the contradictions of missions, the b ru ta lity o f ill-conceived philanthropy, the fu tility of paternalism, official indifference once w hite lives and property were safe, are all there. One thing tha t is missing, how ever, is a location map: the only m ap is o f Fraser Island and the details are n o t particu larly relevantto the essay. To avoid the appearance of disjointed narrative and contrived argum ent the inclusion o f a m ap o f the Wide Bay region, w ith all relevant detail, is essential. For readers w anting a relatively brief but authoritative account o f a case study in the sequence o f events from first contact to indigenous pauperization or ex tinction , this essay m eets a need. I t is unfortunate th a t published in a series o f Occasional Papers in A nthropology it might find a smaller audience than it deserves.

IAN CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY OF A DELAIDE

‘Taming the w ilderness': the first decade o f pastoral se ttlem en t in the K ennedydistrict. By A nne Allingham. Studies in N orth Queensland H istory No. 1, H istory D epartm ent, Jam es Cook University of N orth Q ueensland, Townsville, 1977. Pp. xiv + 238. $3.50 plus postage.

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. . . We thoroughly enjoyed those days of wild romantic life, w ith our horses and our gun, swimming flooded rivers and the danger of being dragged under by undertow s or swept under driftw ood, and always the danger o f being speared by some blackfellow ambushed under cover, so we had to be ready to pro tect ourselves and keep our pow der dry. (Memoirs of M arm aduke Curr quoted p .l 79.)

Passages such as this carry the m yth o f the pioneering pastoral fron tier in Australia from generation to generation. Examining the m y th ’s reality , and the establishment of the pastoral industries vital to Australia’s early developm ent are challenges often ignored by A ustralian historians. As with the history of exploration the rom antic aura itself acts as a barrier. It is, as Allingham puts it, a ‘trad itionally misrepresented, and latterly disregarded field, which is so fundam ental to A ustralian history’ (p.xiv). So it is a pleasure to see this book, a study of th e pastoral frontier in the Kennedy D istrict of N orth Queensland in the 1860s. The book is produced by the Jam es Cook University as the first of their series Studies in N orth Queensland H istory, and is based on the w riter’s BA Honours thesis for the H istory Departm ent o f th a t University. It suggests a developing school o f regional historians there; le t us hope the series continues.

The Kennedy frontier of the 1860s was a ‘hard frontier’, pushing th e bounds of sheep production far in to the tropic north where climate, terrain and vigorous Aboriginal opposition to se ttlem ent all com bined against the grazier, especially one who hoped to produce fine wool. The lesson that cattle were b e tte r suited to tropical climate, steep terrain and spear-grass country was im printed by b itte r experience. The depression o f the late 1860s with the collapse o f the wool industry reinforced the message, while the mining rush of the following decade added new dimensions to the Kennedy frontier and its problem s. Allingham gives balanced coverage to the history o f pastoral settlem ent in the K ennedy district (‘this upside down, outlandish p lace’) during its first decade, w ith the emphasis on social history. The writer is convinced that such studies are im portan t, and as relevant to the m ainstream Australian history as its politics, racial and class tensions:

. . . one suspects th a t squatting is considered by comparison to be irrelevant, predictable and som ew hat unstimulating. Moreover the celebrated squatte r of the earlier historical era is now seen as frontier tyrant, in the light o f Aboriginal and fron tier conflict studies. But in the interests o f balanced history it is desirable to research anew the squatter; stereotype images require questioning, and the pastoral pioneer m ust be appreciated amidst the guiding and motivating forces o f his era and also in all his com plexity. . . . I w ould urge as a fu rthe r progression o f current race relation studies, the integration of bo th Aboriginal and E uropean research, w ith the ultim ate aim of com prehensive frontier history (p.xi).The study carries this aim o f balanced coverage into effect. I t also achieves even

weighting of the m inutiae o f regional and local history and the wider issues to which they related. Throughout, the la tte r are kept in the reader’s awareness, b u t they do not dom inate. Critical judgm ent is displayed in discussion of the grand synthesising models, Frederick Jackson T urner’s frontier thesis and Russel Ward’s m ateship theories.

Allingham sees w om en and Aborigines as the ‘silent parties’ in the h isto ry of pastoral expansion. She does n o t explore the role o f pioneer women in detail, bu t, drawing on the w ork of Brayshaw, Loos and Reynolds, she presents a clear sum m ary of relations betw een pastoralists and Aborigines during the 1860s and early 1870s.

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This chapter is of major interest for contact studies, as the Aborigines offered ‘effective and intelligent resistance’ to settlem ent in a guerilla campaign o f u n ­expected violence. This campaign had decisive impact on the labour situation in, and developm ent of, the area. Loos and Reynolds estim ate th a t on the E uropean side losses in the north Queensland conflict am ounted to some 400 to 450 dead. If, as one observer com m ented, for every white man killed six ‘blackfellows b ite th e d u st’ (p. 158), Aboriginal losses m ust have been considerable. The situation was recognised as one of crisis but projected reform policies were rejected by a d istan t governm ent and a solution was left to local expedient. Some pastoralists, such as Christison, Chatfield and Bode, successfully countered the situation w ith negotiation and experim ents in co-operation. The m ajority, however, responded ‘w ith lead’ or by calling in the Native Police. The grim reality o f the ‘very jo lly kind of life’ (p.157) led by this body of troopers is neatly exposed by Allingham . In a perceptive and balanced account of a complex situation she indicates areas where the cu rren t models of culture-contact history need m odification in the light o f regional variation. Allingham also tries to assess ‘both sides o f the fro n tie r’, b u t her section on Aboriginal society is less satisfying than that on the settlers. References to ‘stone age technology’ (p.141) and to ‘totally unknow n’ agriculture seem simplistic. Would those who are actively engaged in culture contact studies welcom e the title ‘revisionist historians’ (p.139) reacting to ‘tacit silence’?

In concluding, Allingham writes:. . . In the long term perspective the influence of initial racial conflict has been suggested to have been tragic and pervasive; one wonders w hat the im pact o f th e frontier has been, socially, politically and economically in the continuing affairs o f N orthern Queensland (p.221).

Allingham points to areas of regional research which m ight suggest answers to th is question — studies of the bush worker, o f pioneering wom en, of the N o rth Queensland separation movement, o f racial attitudes in the coastal tow ns o f th e north , and the history of the Flinders district and the Gulf country. Regional histories o f this kind, well researched, clearly w ritten and hilly docum ented , investigating local history in its wider contex t, are im portan t contribu tions to A ustralian h istory. They offer basic building blocks for significant synthesis. I t is hoped th a t fu rthe r studies follow in this series which has begun so well.

ISABEL MCBRYDE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

The Black Eureka. By Max Brown. Australasian Book Society, Sydney, 1976. Pp. xviii + 246. $10.50.

For over th irty years, an Aboriginal com m unity in the Pilbara region of W estern A ustralia has show n considerable ingenuity and organizational innovation in its efforts to survive economically and yet retain a degree o f group independence, to m aintain significant com ponents o f Aboriginal culture, and develop new strategies to cope w ith th e changing situation. The changes have been dram atic, and the A borigines have been part of the drama, as the Pilbara altered from an iso lated pastoral area, w ith many residual characteristics from its frontier and colonial background, to becom e a major focus for mining by the m ultinational com panies, and an area d o tted with new towns catering for suburban life-styles.

A strike o f Aboriginal pastoral workers in 1946 under the guidance of D onald William McLeod, a local European contractor and mineral prospector, and th e leadership of Aborigines Dooley Bin Bin, K itchener, and Clancy M cKenna n o t only challenged the then current low wage levels and meagre am enities fo r Aborigines on the stations, but also the au thority and activities of the N ative

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Affairs D epartm ent which officially claimed to represent the in terests o f Aborigines. Another outcom e was the emergence of the new Aboriginal com m unity w hich aimed to obtain a pastoral station, no t only for subsistence, bu t as a place for the formal education o f the children and the retirem ent of the old people. Today, afte r a com plicated series of events, the properties of Strelley and Y andeyarra are concrete evidence of these efforts.

The main econom ic activity of the group has been mining, although a diversity o f other ventures such as the collection of pearl shell and buffel seed, as well as the hunting of kangaroos and goats fo r hides and meat have been som e of the ir o th e r work projects. In mining, the Aborigines used a m odification o f the trad itional wooden dish, the yandy, to separate minerals of different specific gravity. This innovation n o t only enabled successful com petition with E uropean m iners on alluvial fields, but was a technology ideally suited to the situation. A yandy could be cheaply constructed from sheet iron, was easily transported , fitted existing Aboriginal skills, and was labour intensive. Further, women were m ost expert in its use, and so became again an integral part o f the Aboriginal w orkforce. As a postcrip t, however, it is w orth no ting tha t in the late 1970s these A borigines have been virtually forced out of mining by the large claims and com petition from the international mining companies.

In the docum entary novel, The black Eureka, Max Brown gives a detailed portrayal of the organization of the strike in the 1940s, th rough to the g roup ’s mining successes and the acquisition of Yandeyarra pastoral s ta tion in the 1950s. In addition we get tw o other glimpses of the movement, first in 1953 w hen Max Brown jo ined the group at Yandeyarra. This gives some indication o f the Aborigines forging a workable organization a t a tim e when there was a rap id influx o f new members, including a small gathering of idealistic Europeans. The novel touches on the ambivalence and tensions as well as the appreciative cooperation engendered in the situation. A hint of the com ing financial difficulties for the group and the ensuing hardship is also evident. The second brief view is from 1960, w hen th e group went through a leadership crisis which led to a split in the m ovem ent, a schism which remains to this day, and is evident in the separate settlem ents o f Strelley and Yandeyarra. The division of the book into three parts reflects Max B row n’s tw o visits to the group, along w ith his collection of inform ation on th e earlier strike period. The central and m ore lengthy section covers the strike and form s the backbone of the book . Here he has successfully combined the results o f f irs thand interviewing and data from docum entary sources to produce a very readable report. The style of writing in this part is m ore formal and less personal th an in the o th er sections, as the au thor stands once removed from his subject, m ore in the m anner of the historian. In the o ther sections, the detailed reporting o f events and description of cultural items is m aintained bu t is not as fully placed in a broad social context. We see more of Brown, the participant observer w ith his a ttitudes and foibles, in social relationship w ith other participants. This is a ty p e of reporting rarely used by social scientists. Bland academic reporting can be m ore pro tective of authors, but often less useful for readers in assessing the perspectives, assum ptions, and interpretive models used by the writers. In this novel we are le ft in no d o u b t about the au tho r’s sym pathy w ith the strikers, or his in te rp re ta tion o f w ider political events in term s of class conflict. Even so, readers m ay find the glimpses of the Aboriginal groups’ micro-politics in the early and final sections o f the b ook m ore

an im portan t contribution to the history o f race rela tions in Australia, yet a few of the generalisations are misleading. The claim th a t it was the first organised initiative by Aborigines in Australian h isto ry , or even the inference that it was the first Aboriginal strike, cannot be substantiated. A dm itted ly , the magnitude of the strike organisation in the Pilbara, and its ram ification beyond

difficult to appreciate. The book is certainly

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the d istrict to influence S tate politics and legislation, as well as the publicity gained both nationally and in ternationally , makes it a spectacular occurrence. However, we need to rem ain aw are of the long series of conflicts which preceded the strike, some of which are actually m entioned in The black Eureka. Also m entioned is an earlier strike over food supplied to the Aborigines of De Grey station. Com parable disputes over wages have been reported from Anna Plains farther up the coast, as well as from o ther S tates.

How The black Eureka will fare judged in terms of curren t literary aesthetics is difficult to estim ate, in that docum entary novels tread the tightrope betw een adequate historical repo rting and literary creativity. I suspect tha t the general reader w ithout any special interest in social movements, social conflict, or Aboriginal history may at times find the detail som ewhat overwhelming: others will com m end such detail as an ind ication of com m itted scholarship. For myself, I found the strike history impressive, and the descriptions contained in the o ther two parts certainly com plem entary to o ther sources dealing w ith the social m ovem ent of the Pilbara Aborigines.

JOHN WILSON PERTH, W.A.

Wacvie. By Faith Bandler. Rigby, Adelaide, 1977. Pp. 146. $7.95.

Wacvie is the sem i-fictionalised biography of the au th o r’s father. Wacvie Mussingkon was, she tells us, kidnapped from the New Hebridean island of Ambrym in 1883 and b rough t to slave on Queensland sugar p lantations. The sto ry tells o f fear and d iscom fort on the voyage to the colony, and then of hard labour, bad food, harsh pun ishm ent and tight social restrictions on the p lantations. Wacvie escaped in 1897 and settled in the Tweed district o f northern N.S.W. He was one of the approxim ately sixteen hundred Melanesians who were allowed for hum anitarian reasons to rem ain in Australia when the bulk of their countrym en were repatriated as p a r t o f the White Australia Policy from 1907. It is a larger- than-life, m orally sim plistic tale indicting white Australia fo r its participation in the system of indentured Pacific Island labour.

Such a picture is a t variance w ith the current scholarly in terpretation o f the labour trade as a tw o-w ay enterprise, if not in its early years then from the 1880s, in which Melanesians p artic ipa ted w ith a knowledge of the rewards and the dangers of such involvement. T his depiction o f an active and intelligent role is no t welcom ed by many A ustralian-bom descendants of the migrants and some critics o f our racist past: the ‘b lackbird ing’ ep ithets are a handy stick w ith which to b ea t ablunt Australian conscience. Yet w hether or not the recruits came willingly does not alter the fact th a t in colonial society they were an exploitable servile labour force. Both supporters and opponents of the indenture system accepted the ir (relative) cheapness and inferior position; the debate centred on w hether Queensland’s tropical developm ent could or should regardless dispense with the ir services. The ‘kanakas’ were expendable field workers, no t perm anent settlers.

Wacvie records the cruelties and indignities to which Islanders were subjected: the occurrence of w hippings, beatings, sexual exploitation, the staggeringly high m ortality in com parison to the w hite population. But Ms Bandler, in her crusade, overstates the case. F or exam ple, her father tells us that the recruits were forbidden outlets such as fishing, singing, dancing, holding feasts, cultivating small gardens of their own. This is con trad ic ted in the numerous accounts by contem porary observers of such leisure activities; nor would it be sensible policy in terms o f a stable and efficient lab o u r force.

Since Wacvie is a novel, it cannot be overly criticised for its historical inaccuracies.

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As part of an emerging black literature, and as the first work by an A ustralian-born descendant o f the Melanesian recruits, its place is assured. To this reviewer, however, it is som ething of a disappointm ent. In describing the life of a black m an in Australia, the emphasis is heavily on the injustices done to him and there are only occasional glimpses of the ‘other side’, o f how he reacted to such trea tm en t and managed to carve a niche for him self and his family in a new country . Wacvie Mussingkon was an independent, p roud Melanesian, a church and com m unity leader respected alike by Islanders and Europeans in the district. ‘The call of village life had faded; home was now h ere’ (p.113). If we had been given m ore insights in to this process of adaptation, Wacvie m ight have made a unique contribution . White Australia is only slowly being drawn into an awareness of the vibrant and functioning sub-cultures in its midst.

PATRICIA MERCER AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Kwork Kwork the green frog and other tales from the spirit time. A ustralian National University Press, Canberra, 1977. Pp. 48. $4.95.

The Aboriginal children's history o f Australia. Written and illustrated by A ustralia’s Aboriginal children. Rigby, Adelaide, 1977. Pp. 150. $7.95.

I am eleven years old and now live in Canberra, but for eighteen m onths in 1976-77 I lived in the N orthern Territory w ith my m other and bro ther who is tw o years younger. Most o f the time we w ere a t Warrabri which is an Aboriginal Settlement 375 km. no rth of Alice Springs. We travelled around a lo t because m y m other was doing research with Aboriginal women. I visited lots o f places and w ent to school w ith Aboriginal children at Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Warrabri. At Warrabri people speak Warlpiri, W arramunga, Kaiditj and Alyawarra. My teacher, Alice Naparula Nelson, taught us Warlpiri. She showed me how to w rite Warlpiri sentences. I think it is im portant for Aboriginal children to be able to w rite their own stories for themselves in their own language. It is also im portant th a t children can write stories for whites to read in English because tha t way they will learn something o f the Aboriginal ways.

Both these books tell about how Aborigines feel about themselves. They m ake whites think about the beauty o f the Aboriginal world and some of the changes which have taken place in the last tw o hundred years. It is very hard to understand about the Dream time which was a long tim e ago bu t is still in people now. Some whites think it is just dreams, like make-up things. In some books you can buy abou t Aborigines, the stories m ake fun of their way o f life. People th ink it is funny o r d irty to eat snakes and lizards. They make the differences sound very big between us. Really there is very little difference because Aboriginal children love to hear stories too . The best ones are the stories about themselves. The Aboriginal ch ildren’s h istory o f Australia is a book which Aboriginal children like because they w rote it and d id the illustrations. Some of my favourite au thors are in both these books. G eraldine Kerinaiua, Irene Lama Lam a, Dianna M errkiyawuy, Ancilla M unkara, D oro thy N urra and Sarah Wolmby have stories and paintings in both .

The story of Kwork Kwork tells the w ay Aboriginal people th ink of the way the world was made. We sometimes learn about God at school b u t we all have different ideas and it is good to know w hat Aboriginal children learn from then- parents. ‘Blue tongue lizard and the ta ip an ’ is about when men and w om en were animals. This is a bit hard for whites to understand but Aboriginal children know what it is about and the drawings in the book help us to see it too. ‘The boy who became the white cockatoo’ tells Aboriginal children that they should obey their

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elders and the law. It also helps warn whites th a t they should be careful ab o u t laws and no t laugh at them. ‘The river which was made from tears’, illustrated b y Dianna Merriyawuy, is also in The Aboriginal children's history o f Australia but th e story is to ld in a slightly different way. It is an im portan t story. All these stories in Kwork Kwork com e from the Top End (North section of N.T.) and Queensland and , like stories from the Centre, are told over and over again. Kwork Kwork is easy to read because I can find out who w rote the stories and did th e illustrations, in th e table o f contents. The prin t is big and clear and th a t is im portan t for children w ho are reading English bu t speaking another language a t home.

I like The Aboriginal children’s history o f Australia best o f all the books w hich deal w ith Aboriginal stories because you can really tell it has been written b y Aboriginal children. They use skin names (sub-sections) and it has the rhythm o f English as Aboriginal children speak it at school and at hom e. O ther Aboriginal children will know when they read these stories th a t they w ere w ritten by o th e r Aborigines. One problem with this book is w orking out w ho w rote the stories. There is no real table o f contents, only a list o f contribu tors and the artist’s nam e beside the paintings. This collection of stories has m ore to do w ith real problems an d the life on settlem ents, missions, and cattle stations now. Some of these things children see clearer than grown-ups. They tell abou t grog fights and people w ho have lost their country7. The stories of m ining tell how we have ruined th e countryside. Maybe people will have second though ts about destroying the coun try when they read these stories. My favourite sto ry is about E lkedra S tation as to ld by Doreen Spratt (p.147) because I have also en joyed that p a rt of the country a n d understand a little bit about how she feels:

This is our land. It goes back, a long way back, into the Dreamtime, into the land of our Dreaming. We made our cam p here, and now all that is left of our presence are the ashes and the bones of the dead animals the young men had killed. Soon even our fo o tp rin ts will be carried away by the wind.

The stories in this history are told by proud people. These tw o books can be read by children now and in the future perhaps we will have m ore stories by Aboriginal people.

GENEVIEVE BELL TURNER PRIMARY SCHOOL

BOOKS RECEIVED

Aboriginal and Islander Identity, January , April, Ju ly 1977. Aboriginal Publications Foundation Inc., 971 Wellington St., West P erth , W.A. 6005. Published quarte rly , annual subscription including postage $6, $8 overseas.

Aboriginal legends: animal tales. By A.W. Reed7 A JL &: A.W. Reed Pty. L td., Sydney, 1978. Pp. 141. $2.50.

Aboriginal m yths: tales o f the dreamtime. By A.W. Reed. A.H. &: A.W. Reed P ty . Ltd., Sydney, 1978. Pp. 142. $2.50.

Aboriginal words o f Australia. By A.W. Reed, illustrated by E.H. Papps. A.W. R eed, Sydney, first published 1965, reprinted (this edition) 1976. Pp. 144. $2 .50.

Aboriginals o f Australia: a record o f their fast-vanishing traditional way o f life,featuring over 90 full-colour photographs. By Douglass Baglin and Barbara Mullins.

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A.H. &: A.W. Reed Pty. Ltd., Sydney, first published 1969, this edition 1976. Pp. 35. $1.95.

An illustrated encyclopedia o f Aboriginal life. By A.W. Reed, illustrated by E.H. Papps. A.H. &: A.W. Reed, Sydney, first published 1969, reprin ted w ith corrections 1974. Pp. 175. $8.95.

The Australian Aboriginal. Text by R oland Robinson, photographs by Douglass Baglin. A.H. Sc A.W. Reed Pty. L td, Sydney, first published 1968, this edition 1977. Pp. 128. $12.95.

A bibliography o f Australian Aborigines. Com piled by Denise E. Quay, assisted by Marilyn Lenton. Jam es Cook University o f N orth Queensland, Aboriginal and Islander Studies, Occasional Paper No. 1, 1977. Pp. 103. [A union list o f m onographs and o ther materials held by the Libraries o f Jam es Cook University o f N orth Queensland and Townsville College of A dvanced Education, as a t March 1977.] The hairy man o f South Eastern Australia. By Graham C. Joyner. Available from the author, P.O. Box 253, K ingston, A.C.T. 2604. Pp. iv + 27. $5.40 includingpostage. [A collection of 29 docum ents from the Monaro and South Coast region relating to alleged sightings of ‘the hairy m an’, variously described as a strange animal, gorilla, ape or huge m onkey.]

CURRENT RESEARCH

This listing summarises replies to a letter requesting details o f current research on Aboriginal history sent to Universities, Colleges o f Advanced Education and interested individuals. It is hoped that publication o f this incomplete initial listing will encourage others to provide details o f their research. A comprehensive listing o f current research would prevent duplication o f projects and enable scholars to see at a glance where work is being done and where further research should be directed. Corrections, additions and deletions should be sent to: Jim Urry, Aboriginal History, c/- Department o f Pacific and Southeast Asian History, The Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 2600.

AUSTRALIA (general)

Browne, Richard. Aboriginal boxers from 1930 to the present; Aborigines in sport generally. (History D ept., La T robe University).

Burke, Catherine. Aborigines as depicted by whites in films and photographs; Ph.D. research. (Dept, of General Studies, University of New South Wales).

Donaldson, Tamsin. Forms of oral literature (N.S.W. and elsewhere). (Dept, of Linguistics, Australian National University).

Kukathas, Chamdran. Aboriginal p ro test 1965-1972; BA Hons, research. (Dept, of H istory, S.G.S., Australian N ational University).

Maher, John. Aborigines and the A ustralian constitu tion w ith particular reference to referenda and governm ent policy; L itt. B. research. (Dept, of History, University o f New England).

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